There’s been a deluge of behind-the-scenes Predators images arrive online today, first surfacing at the AVP Galaxy Forum. I suppose they contain moderately serious spoiler material, so click on with due caution. I’ve put my selection below the break here, but there’s even more on the forum.

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I was a little surprised when a solo movie vehicle for interplanetary Looney Tune zealot Marvin the Martian was announced but that was some time ago and since then, I assumed it was dying a slow death out in the cold. Not so, apparently and Alex Zamm, director of the upcoming Bevery Hills Chihuahua 2 and previously attached to a Hong Kong Phooey adaptation, has been tapped to take on directing duties.

The only one of Zamm’s movies that I’ve actually seen was Inspector Gadget 2, which he also co-wrote, and I have to say that I don’t remember it very favourably. Maybe he’s come on in leaps and bounds since then? I certainly share this love of cartoons he’s apparently indulging, and I respect his desire to elasticise some live action movies into toon territory.

It’s been so long since the Marvin movie was last talked about I’m a little surprised they’ve kept the original story premise. It’s a bad one too.

One of the many things that sets Pixar apart from other animation studios (less so Disney these days, you might imagine) is their dedication to nurture and cultivation. This applies both to the talent, the animators and directors, but also to their projects. As such, many of their films begin with a pitch that’s rather different than the film we finally end up with in cinemas.

On the recent publicity rounds to support Up, Pete Docter was given a chance to recount his original pitch for Monsters Inc. You can read a transcript of what he said after the break.